Pictures taken by my cousin Corey...

Busy! Busy! Busy!

Well, as the post title says we've been very busy! After our weekend at Disney my parents came for a visit. It was wonderful spending time with them. We had a great time together and they were able to spend some quality time with their youngest grandchild. My dad left Friday 7/17 but my mom stayed. It was awesome having that much time with my mom! We had so much fun! Maybe too much...cause now I miss her soooo much! On Friday 7/24 my mom, Owen, and I all drove to GA so that Owen and I could head up to Family Camp with CATR.
A part of me was really looking forward to this road trip and another part of me was dreading it! I was super excited about seeing so many of my friends from our church and I really enjoy the rush and blessing that comes from serving families at camp but I was going to be away from Joe for 9 days! Sounds silly but that's the longest we've been away from each other since we've known one another! Tough stuff!
Family Fusion was great! It is always exciting to see what crazy ideas Wendell has come up with and it's always amazing to see how his wonderful wife assists him in organizing it all so perfectly! I helped with three events:
1- Hillbilly Hoedown
I pretty much made up a game to go with the western theme where each family received a bunch of Twizzlers and they had to make the longest rope they could during an allotted amount of time. It was fun! Then I put on my boots and cowgirl hat and taught the group a line dance! Everyone did great!
2- Date Night
This is a night when the parents get to have a much needed date night away form the kids. I organized the decor for the dinner including a table runner and centerpiece. I think the parents appreciated their special evening!
3- Mom's Merge
This is a time designed for the mom's to take a break while the dads have the kids. This year it was a Slumber Party theme. All the mom's were given a lime green fleece blanket with their initial monogrammed on it in pink! Very Girly! At the mom's merge they enjoyed popcorn, soda (in a glass bottle:), chocolate candy bars, hand massages, and girly music. They were also given the opportunity to have their nails painted by a camp volunteer or have their hair braided . I think the mom's enjoyed their time to be who they are-Girls!
Although I really enjoyed camp, I must say it was very different from last year (for me). I was torn. A part of me wanted to be able to help Wendell with more but the other stronger part of me knew I had to be mommy first! If I go back next year Joe has to be there! :)
I left camp on Wednesday after lunch to head up to Knoxville to see the in-laws (or so the in-laws could see Owen)! I thought it would be a short drive since camp was in north GA, but it ended up taking Owen and I 3 hours through the rain, fog, and mountains! Yuck! I get car sick pretty easily so the mountains were no fun...and it's amazing how much more aware you are of the dangers around you when you have a baby! But we made it safely! Owen got pretty up set and quite frankly was screaming his head off when we were only about 5 minutes from our destination, so out of desperation I decided to call Joe and put him on speaker phone so Owen could hear his daddy's voice. Although I thought it was silly,I had to do something! And as soon as Owen heard his daddy his crying and screaming stopped! It was so sweet! I'm sure I'm not the first mom to experience this but it was my first time and it was amazing! I love my two boys!
We spent the rest of Wednesday and Thursday with Owen's Grams, Gramps, and uncles. It was great seeing Owen interact with all of them! On Friday we drove down to good 'ole Paulding county to spend the day and night with my sister and her family. My sister and I did what we do best-consignment shopping! We got some great deals on winter clothes for our baby boys and had a lot of fun doing it! I spent the least amount of time with her during this 9 day road trip and I would have loved for it to be the longest! I miss my sissy!
Although I wanted to spend more time with Blair I really couldn't wait to get home to see Joe! Owen and I drove the long 9 hours on Saturday- and he did great! No melt downs! No screaming--a little crying but no screaming! He was awesome...which made it much easier for me! When we arrived at our apartment in FL Joe was out of town at a beautiful resort in Naples, FL (Owen and I could have been with him if we came home right after Family camp on Wednesday). We could have spent another day with Blair since Joe wouldn't be home until Sunday but Roxy (our dog) was home alone!
Finally Joe got home late Sunday afternoon!! It was like a breath of fresh air to see him! I honestly don't feel complete unless I am with him! We had a much needed fun day together as a family because the next day....
Corey, my cousin, flew in from North Carolina. He is here visiting until Friday evening and then Joe's brother Matt and his wife Elise will arrive Saturday after lunch to visit with us until Wednesday! And then we will baby-sit Joe's boss's kids (our only friends in Florida) for the weekend and then we close on our house on Monday! So, I guess we will continue to be busy, busy, busy! :)